To inform the development of this plan, Council has drawn on the views of more than 4,013 people across community engagement efforts undertaken in 2023–2024.
In 2024, Council ran a broad community campaign inviting feedback that would inform the development of these plans. The campaign had an audience of 138,773 and more than 1,600 community members participated in activities including the City of Parramatta’s first 100 Forum.
This feedback, along with an extensive body of community engagement results from 2023–2024 on a variety of strategic projects, formed the basis for the four-year Delivery Program 2025-29, first adopted in 2025, and has been considered again in the Year 2 update of the plan now on public exhibition.
Across our pre public exhibition pop-ups in the Council wards, an all-day forum held at Parramatta Town Hall and a city-wide online survey, key themes emerged including:
- Macroeconomic conditions are impacting the community. The cost of living, housing costs and issues relating to affordability resonate with the City of Parramatta community.
- Traffic and transport planning needs attention. This includes issues relating to parking, public transport infrastructure, and accessible transport.
- Environmental sustainability and access to green space including parks, sports facilities, and play spaces is of high value to the community and considered important for its health and wellbeing.
Other insights can be found in the Engagement Evaluation and Key Findings Report under Resources.
The draft Budget details Council’s funding for projects and services, forecast financial position, and proposed rates, fees and charges for the year. It includes more than $570 million in funding for Council services and projects in the 2026/27 Financial Year. The draft Budget can be viewed in the Resources section as "Draft DPOP Part 4 - Budget".
Your feedback will be used to inform final changes made to the proposed projects, services, budgets, fees and charges in the draft plans. Community feedback will be presented to Councillors and considered before the adoption of the plans.
Rates can fluctuate annually, and are calculated on a combination of factors. These include the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) rate pegging, which sets the maximum increases Council can apply, and changes in land values reported by the NSW Valuer General to Council
For the 2026/27 year, IPART has set the rate peg to 4.8%, which is reflected in this draft budget. It is important to note that the rate peg increase authorised by IPART applies to Council’s overall income from rates, and not individual ratepayers’ rates.
Individual rates are influenced by individual factors, such as land valuations conducted by the NSW Valuer General. Consequently, rates for individuals may deviate more or less than the approved percentage, depending on how land valuation changes relative to other ratepayers’ land values in a given year.
Council may charge and/or recover fees for any service it provides. Fees and charges are distinct from the rates and annual levies applied to properties within the LGA.
When setting fees and charges, Council considers the nature of the service and recognises any community service obligations and wider policy objectives, including its commitments to equity and social justice.
Typically, Council’s fees and charges need to rise a small amount each year in line with the rising cost of service delivery to the community.
This year, Council proposes that most of the fees and charges (59%) will increase by no more that 5%.
If adopted, the new fees and charges will commence on 1 July 2026.
